St Vigeans

St Vigeans 8 (St Vigianus), Angus, recumbent grave-cover

Measurements: L 1.66m, W 0.45m, D 0.29m

Stone type: grey sandstone

Place of discovery: NO c 6384 4289

Present location: in St Vigeans Museum (HES).

Evidence for discovery: found in the first half of the nineteenth century in re-use in a wall of the church, though the precise location is uncertain. It was removed from the wall and taken into St Vigeans Museum in 1960.

Present condition: almost the complete length has survived, but there is considerable damage to the head and foot of the stone, as well as along the edges and base, and the carving is worn.

Description

Face A is carved in relief, whereas the only other intact face, D, is carved in incision, but both display a certain restraint and simplicity of style. Face A appears to had a wide border with interlace between roll mouldings, a sunken main panel with a damaged serpent-like creature with a pair of large fins and traces of a broad head, and a deep slot for an upright component or a relic at one end.

Face D is divided by vertical lines into five panels of unequal widths. From left to right, the panels contain a stag and a doe trotting to the left, with the doe looking back over her shoulder at the fawn in the next panel and perhaps beyond to the sturdy hound in the third panel. The fourth panel is blank, but the fifth panel is graced by a more elaborate carving of a bird with plumed head held high and plaited tail feathers.

Date range: ninth or tenth century.

Primary references: ECMS pt 3, 269; Geddes 2017, no VIG008.

Desk-based information compiled by A Ritchie 2017

St Vigeans 7 (St Vigianus), Angus, cross-slab fragment

Measurements: H 1.67m, W 0.92m, D 0.20m

Stone type: sandstone

Place of discovery: NO c 6384 4289

Present location: in St Vigeans Museum (HES).

Evidence for discovery: found upright but almost entirely buried in the churchyard in the first half of the nineteenth century. It was set upright in the churchyard initially and later built into the church at the time of the 1870s restoration. It was taken into St Vigeans Museum in 1960.

Present condition: severely trimmed and badly weathered, face C more so than face A.

Description

This was once a magnificent great slab with a cross carved in relief on both broad faces, but it has been trimmed down for re-use, possibly as a headstone with just the crosses visible. A small fragment, St Vigeans no 26 (now missing), may belong to the terminal of the left-hand arm of the cross on face A. Geddes discusses in detail the complex iconography of this monument (2017, vol 1, 85-106).

On face A, an equal-armed cross is set on a shaft that stands on a rectilinear pedestal. The components of the cross are bordered by roll mouldings, and spirals flank the wide circular armpits. The centre of the cross is a roundel filled with interlace in a cruciform pattern, the two side-arms are filled with diagonal key pattern, and the upper and lower arm are filled with loose interlace. The circular interlace patterns in the lower arm are echoed in the shaft, which is densely packed with eight triple spiral designs, each of which has zoomorphic or anthropomorphic terminals. The pedestal base contains an elegant pattern of open interlace. In the background to the cross on the left are two figures in long robes, facing one another across the body of a naked man hanging upside down over a square object. Beneath are two tonsured clerics facing the cross, wearing long hooded cloaks and carrying staffs. The cleric on the left has a book satchel hanging round his neck. To the right of the shaft there are two seated figures, facing one another and holding a circular object, while below stands a bull with a small naked figure crouched beneath his head. Face A is notable for the fine details of its carving of garments and shoes.

Face C is badly defaced but it bore another equal-armed cross, this time with a square central panel and interlaced ornament. The narrow faces of the slab are also damaged.

Date range: eighth or ninth century.

Primary references: ECMS pt 3, 267-9; Geddes 2017, no VIG007.

Desk-based information compiled by A Ritchie 2017